‘Keeping up with the War God’: BOOK REVIEW

Expat literature

February 3, 2012January 11, 2015 Trista di Genova 0 Comment aboriginal, aboriginal culture in Taiwan, aboriginal peoples, Chiang kai-shek in Taiwan, 蔣中正 / 蔣介石 Chiang Kai-shek, expat literature on Taiwan, expat writers, folk religion, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek 蔣中正 / 蔣介石, ghost money, headhunters in wulai, Keeping Up With the War God, Koxinga, Koxinga 國姓爺, MacKay in Taiwan, presbyterian missionaries, Steven Crook, tribal religion, writers groups

Keeping up with the War God, by Steven Crook (Yushan Publications, 2001) Buy it on Amazon.com here This is a fantastic read for anyone who’s already perused all the guidebooks and now wants to delve into some of the deeper historical contexts behind important people, places and mind-bending customs in

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Steven Crook: Taiwan's consummate cultural notetaker

Expat Chat Expat literature

June 13, 2011January 11, 2015 Trista di Genova 6 Comments aboriginal culture in Taiwan, aboriginal peoples, aboriginal Taiwan, best places to see in Taiwan, Bradt travel guide, Catherine Dai, cross-cultural communication, cultural differences, Dos and Don'ts in Taiwan, Formosan Odyssey, freelance work in Taiwan, John Ross, Kaohsiung, Keeping Up With the War God, publishing, Siraya, Steven Crook, tainan, Taiwan News, Taiwan travel, tourism, Trade and Cultural Promotion Office, Travel in Taiwan, travel stories about Taiwan, writers

By Trista di Genova, The Wild East (Pick up a copy of next month’s ‘Centered on Taipei’ magazine to see this interview in print.) Steven Crook, a Briton who’s been in Taiwan since 1991, is an amazingly versatile freelancer. He’s worked as a government project consultant, copy editor for Taiwan

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Paradise Lost? Orchid Island’s Rocky History

Traditional boats on orchid Island

Beautiful Island History

May 18, 2011March 17, 2017 Trista di Genova aboriginal culture in Taiwan, aboriginal peoples, anthropologist Peter Bellwood, Austronesian creation myths, Austronesian language and cultures, Barry Martinson, green island 綠島, indigenous peoples, Japanese in Taiwan, Kuomintang influence on tribal cultures, Lanyu Meteorological Observatory (蘭嶼氣象站), Lou Tsu-k’uang, nuclear, nuclear dumping on Orchid Island, Orchid Island, Orchid Island Lanyu 蘭嶼, Pacific Rim cultures, Phalaenopsis orchids, Presbyterians in Formosa, Small Heavenly Lake (小天池, Taiwan DNA and the Batanes, Taiwan history, Tao tribe, travel, Treaty of Shimonoseki, Xiao tien chih)., Yami, Yeying Village (Ivalino)

If the Tao people of Taiwan’s Orchid Island can overcome some modern-day challenges while celebrating and sharing their rich heritage, the future looks bright for this amazing but remote haven

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Unpaving Paradise: Digging Up Taiwan's Ancient Heritage

Beautiful Island

July 16, 2009 Trista di Genova 10 Comments aboriginal peoples, Ann Gibbons, anthropology, Austronesian language and cultures, Beinan, Changbin culture, dispersal theory, historic migration of peoples, history of Asia-Pacific, Homo sapiens sapiens, indigenous peoples, National Museum of Prehistory, Peter Bellwood, Taidong, Taidung, Taitung, Taiwan archaeology, Tapenkeng, Tsochen Man

Over a thousand ancient sites have been discovered in Taiwan over the past century, with many constantly being unearthed and excavated to this day — by only a handful of archaeologists. Yet few are aware that Taiwan’s history may hold the key to understanding human development and migration in the Asia-Pacific region.

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